Columbia Pictures has so far promoted the gritty alien invasion drama as being in the vein of Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down, and this first clip from Battle: Los Angeles seems to confirm just that.

Dubbed outside the States as World Invasion: Battle Los Angeles, the movie revolves around an extraterrestrial invasion of Earth, but focuses its gaze primarily on the experiences of a Marine squad based in the City of Angels. Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) stars as the group’s leader, Staff Sergeant Michael Nantz, alongside the likes of Michelle Rodriguez (Avatar), Michael Peña (World Trade Center), Bridget Moynahan (I, Robot), Corey Hardrict, and numerous others.

Director Jonathan Liebesman (Wrath of the Titans) has kind of a weak track record, having churned out horror flicks like Darkness Falls and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning in the past, but it looks as though he may have hit his stride by turning to the sci-fi genre with Battle: Los Angeles.

Check out the clip from Battle: Los Angeles (courtesy of Yahoo! Movies) below:

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The idea of accompanying soldiers into the heat of battle against technologically-superior aliens is actually rather refreshing. Past invasion movies have devoted so much time to following the experiences of everyday people and families, it’s become an overused approach by this point. Warfare against other people is harsh enough, but Battle: Los Angeles will up the stakes even more by making the opposition that of heavily armed aliens capable of lighting up the atmosphere like it’s Doomsday.

If this scene is anything to go by, Liebesman looks to have succeeded in filming his sci-fi war flick in a style that still captures the chaotic and disorienting experience of being caught in the crossfire, but avoids reducing everything to a shaky, unflattering blur. It’s a difficult trick to manage, but it’s something that most of the best war movies (like Saving Private Ryan) have pulled off well.

Concern can now turn to whether or not the characters in Battle: Los Angeles will be as captivating as the action and F/X work. The haunting visual of a once-thriving city reduced to burning wreckage will certainly have an impact, but it’s the people at the heart of the story that’ll make or break the film at the end of the day. Given the acting talent involved, there’s good reason to be optimistic.